Female Leadership Forum at CSW70: From Dialogue to Action
- Apr 1
- 2 min read
On March 18, global leaders, professionals and changemakers convened for the Female Leadership Forum: Actionable Models for Women’s Leadership, organized by Junior Chamber International as part of the NGO CSW70 Forum.
The event demonstrated strong global engagement, with 997 registrations and over 8,000 views across Zoom, Facebook Live and post-event content.
Advancing Leadership Beyond Representation
The forum focused on a critical challenge:why increased representation of women does not always translate into decision-making power.
Opening remarks from JCI President Alejandra Castillo emphasized that advancing women’s leadership is not only a matter of equity, but a key driver of inclusive economies, stronger institutions and sustainable development.
Leadership for Sustainable Impact
Keynote speakers Natalia Tsuyama and Monika Froehler highlighted that women’s participation in leadership leads to more accountable institutions, increased innovation and more resilient communities.
At the same time, they reinforced that systemic barriers continue to limit access to decision-making roles, requiring both individual empowerment and structural transformation.
Understanding the Structural Barriers
The panel discussion, moderated by Nathalia Cardenas, explored the root causes preventing women from advancing into leadership.
Featuring leaders from corporate, policy and civil society sectors:
Márcia Balisciano
Sanjana Chhantyal
Aleyna Sayin
Shannon Kobran
The discussion identified four key dimensions of barriers:
Institutional systems and leadership pipelines
Economic access to capital and opportunities
Cultural norms and biases
Policy and regulatory frameworks
The key takeaway:The challenge is not only access, but influence and authority in decision-making spaces.
From Discussion to Action: The Leadership Lab
A central component of the forum was the interactive Leadership Lab, where participants collaborated in multilingual breakout groups to:
Identify key barriers
Analyze root causes
Design one actionable solution within 12 months
Define measurable indicators of success
This approach ensured that the session generated practical and implementable outcomes.
Next Steps: Building the 90-Day Blueprint
JCI is now developing a 90-day actionable blueprint based on these insights to accelerate women’s leadership globally.
To ensure a comprehensive approach, contributions are still being collected from participants and the wider community to further refine this roadmap.
Continue the Journey
The Female Leadership Forum reinforced that advancing women’s leadership requires collaboration, accountability and action.
Stakeholders are invited to:
🎥 Rewatch the session and key insights here.
📝 Contribute to the ongoing consultation and share your insights here.
🤝 Engage with JCI’s Women in Leadership initiatives and submit your details here.
Together, these efforts will help translate dialogue into measurable and lasting impact!
